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by ArcaneLaurels



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Adoption, Bullying (not intense but it's there), Gen, Lots of introspective thinking, Some angst but it all works out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 10:22:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13634352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcaneLaurels/pseuds/ArcaneLaurels
Summary: "He deserves a good home."Both of Taako's ears twitched at that. "What are you saying?"A fic I wrote after doing a lot of thinking regarding the popular headcanon that Kravitz and Taako would adopt Angus. Here's my interpretation of how that process played out.(Originally posted to my tumblr but transferred here with some minor edits)





	1. An Important Meeting

Taako groaned as he heard his stone of farspeech go off. He rolled over, blindly grasping for it on his bedside table and knocking some lip balm onto the floor in the process. Next to him, Kravitz shifted slightly before rolling to face away from the noise, otherwise undisturbed. Taako vaguely wondered just how early it was if Kravitz hadn’t woken up for work yet.

He was ready to kill whoever was calling him on his vacation. He’d just finished a tour and his only desires right now were sleep and quality time with his fiance. He didn’t have the energy to kill anyone this early in the morning, though, so he just answered.

“Hullo?” His voice was dulled with sleep.

“Taako? Sorry, did I wake you?”

He immediately recognized Ren’s voice on the other end. He forced himself to sit up, causing Kravitz to stir next to him. Taako knew Ren wouldn’t call him on his vacation unless it was something important. “S’all good, what’s up?”

Ren went on to ask Taako to come to the school for a meeting with her, which he sleepily agreed to. Three hours later, he walked into her office and sat down across from her desk a little stiffly, Ren’s obvious nervousness putting him on edge.

“So what’s shaking, Ren? Must be a pretty hefty problem if you’re calling me during my vay-cay,” He said.

Ren’s ears laid back and she folded her hands on her desk. “I know, I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to call you but…” She took a breath. “This... _issue_...has only been getting worse. It, uh, it doesn’t exactly pertain to your role here, but I didn’t know who else to call.”

Taako’s brow creased. “So what’s the issue?”

Ren stared down at her hands instead of meeting Taako’s gaze. After a moment, she looked up at him. “It’s Angus.”

Taako’s ears twitched upwards in surprise. “You called me here for Agnes?”

“Well, like I said, I didn’t know who else to call.” Ren opened a folder that was off to the side of her desk and pulled out a form, sliding it across the desk to Taako.

He could easily see that it was one of Angus’s school forms. It asked to list allergies, dietary restrictions, and it also had questions involving the boarding option that the school provided.

What got Taako’s attention, though, was the bottom of the sheet. The last section stated, “List Emergency Contacts (Preferably Next of Kin).” Underneath, Taako could see that Angus had written a few names down, then crossed each of them out, and the field was ultimately left blank. The names were easily legible, as Angus had written very neatly and only used one clean line to cross each one out. Taako recognized his own name, listed first, as well as Magnus, Lucretia, Kravitz, Lup, and Barry. As well as an M that might’ve been for Merle, though he supposed that Angus had quickly changed his mind about that.

He could easily imagine Angus writing each name out before getting worried that the person listed would have some sort of problem with being his emergency contact, then crossing it out. His heart felt inexplicably heavy at the thought.

Ren spoke as Taako looked at the sheet. “I didn’t really have the contact information for anyone else written on the sheet, and your name  _was_ the first one…” she trailed off.

Taako frowned at the paper. “Is this the problem? I mean, this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, you can keep me as his emergency contact.”

Ren’s ears pressed back against her head again. “Uh, no, that’s not the actual issue. The problem is…” She trailed off again, staring at her fidgeting hands for a moment. She eventually stilled them and looked up with a serious expression. “Angus is being bullied.”

Taako set his jaw, preventing his expression from changing. He forced a chuckle that sounded genuine. “Bullied? I thought he’d be the most popular kid in school.”

Ren’s ear twitched, giving away that she wasn’t pleased by Taako’s response. “Well, he  _is_ generally well-liked, but you know how kids can get. Jealousy can cause a lot of problems.”

Taako shrugged. “So what? The kid can take care of himself. I’m sure he could blast those assholes six ways to Sunday.”

“Yes, but you know he never would.”

She was right. Still, he rolled his eyes, trying his hardest to keep up his aloof defense so that Ren wouldn’t see how much this was actually affecting him, so she wouldn’t see how much he wanted to find those kids right now and Magic Missile them. 

Ren continued. “I’ve tried talking to Angus about it, and he claims that he’s fine, but I can tell it’s affecting him. And I’ve tried punishing the kids responsible, but there’s-” She paused. “Well, there’s quite a few of them. And we have no idea who the ringleader is.”

“So, what do you want  _me_ to do about it? Give you the OK to expel them?"

“Technically, their actions don’t warrant expulsion, so that’d be illegal,” She pointed out.

“Then why am I here?” Taako asked, getting impatient. “I’m not his dad.”

“Well, that’s actually-” Ren caught herself, her ears drooping sheepishly before she continued, choosing her words carefully. “Angus is a brilliant and talented boy, so these kids mainly pick on him for one of the only things they can think to hold over him.”

There was a sinking feeling in Taako’s stomach as he fought to keep his expression neutral. “And what’s that?” He asked, even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

“He’s an orphan.”

Taako’s ear twitched and he had to remind himself to breathe. There was a reason why his school had a boarding option. As kids, he and Lup usually didn’t have a stable enough living situation to enroll in and attend schools, but when they did, they would gain some quick popularity (twins were always a good show) before the other kids would start harassing them for their home life, or rather lack thereof. He had, without hesitation, insisted to Ren that they provide boarding for students who didn’t have stable enough homes. Part of him told himself that he should’ve known there might be a problem for Angus like there had been for him and his sister.

Another part of him told himself that it wasn’t his problem. Angus was young, but he knew how to hold his own. He was a genius detective and had fought like hell against the Hunger, after all. And besides, Taako and Lup had gone through the same thing and they came out fine. More or less. The selfish side of Taako - the part of him that was left over from his voided, Lup-less memories - didn’t see a point in trying to help out in any way. He was usually good at recognizing these thoughts when they surfaced, but sometimes he failed to check.

He didn’t respond, and instead leaned back in his chair.

Ren bit her lip. “I just…I know how much Angus looks up to you. And I know enough about you to know that you’re also pretty fond of him. He…” She trailed off with a sigh. “He deserves a good home.”

Both of Taako’s ears twitched at that. “What are you saying?”

Ren cleared her throat and tried to keep her composure. “I-I know that it’s a lot to ask, and you and Kravitz are both busy people, but I-” She stopped herself, looking like she didn’t know what to say next.

“Are you asking me to  _adopt_ him?” Taako asked incredulously.

Ren’s ears twitched and she refused to meet his gaze. That was answer enough.

Taako stared at her for a few long moments, his expression unreadable. Then, he pulled a pen out of the cup on the desk and started scribbling on the form that was in front of him. Without a word, he put the pen back, stood up, and promptly left the room.

Ren let out a breath, exhausted from the nerves that had wrung her dry as she’d talked to Taako. She’d known it would be a sensitive subject for him, and she kicked herself for not preparing for it more. She sighed and pulled the paper towards herself, a small lump forming in her throat when she read what Taako had written in the Emergency Contacts field.

> Magnus Burnsides  
>  364 Red Oak Lane  
>  Raven’s Roost  
>  Stone of Farspeech: 907236


	2. Nowhere Else to Go

When Kravitz got home from work that day, he found Taako sitting on their couch, staring thoughtfully into the unlit fireplace. He immediately knew something was up, especially when Taako didn’t greet him. What had happened at the school?

“Heyy,” Kravitz said in a gentle tone as he carefully sat down next to his fiance. “I’m home.” 

He knew Taako wasn’t going to respond much - if at all - to him. He was more thoughtful and pragmatic than he liked to let on, and when he started down a rabbit hole of a thought, he usually didn’t resurface for hours. Kravitz hoped to gauge what sort of thing he was thinking about based on his reactions.

Taako gave a quiet “Heyy” in response, his eyes still locked to the fireplace. No other words, which meant it was serious; it took up a lot of his focus. Next test. Kravitz moved closer on the couch and wrapped his arms around Taako, who only stiffened in response. That meant that whatever it was also involved Kravitz in some way; if it were a strictly outside problem - such as an issue with the school’s budget - Taako would’ve quickly and easily relaxed in his fiance’s arms.

Kravitz was confused. What could Ren have possibly talked to Taako about that would’ve also involved him? He considered the possibility that maybe Taako’s thoughts were occupied by something completely unrelated to his meeting at the school, but Kravitz thought it unlikely.

“So, what did Ren want?” He asked.

Taako’s ear twitched, lightly swatting Kravitz’s face. So he  _was_ focused on something Ren had said.

“Nothing important,” Taako said, resurfacing from his thoughts for a bit in order to respond. “Just boring stuff.”

_‘Boring stuff’ that has you sitting here like a lump on a log_ , Kravitz thought. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Taako hesitated. “Not yet.”

Kravitz felt the slightest bit of relief at that. “Not yet” wasn’t “No,” after all. Taako would get into these funks, and he would clam up if they involved Kravitz in any way. Kravitz knew by now that what Taako was  _actually_ doing was mentally preparing himself to discuss something with Kravitz, probably going over a million different possible scenarios and outcomes as well as the best ways to approach each one.

Kravitz readjusted himself before pulling Taako closer. “Taakooo,” His voice was gentle but held a tone of warning. “You’re doing it again.”

Taako’s only response was another ear twitch.

Kravitz sighed. “We’ve discussed this; you don’t need to have an entire speech prepared before you can talk to me about something.”

Taako sighed as well, leaning his head against Kravitz’s shoulder before speaking. “I know,” He said, giving Kravitz some hope. He continued. “But this is…different. I have to figure out something for myself before I’ll know if I even  _need_ to talk to you about it.”

“You don’t have to  _need_  to talk to me about something in order to do it,” Kravitz pointed out. 

“I know, I know, but it’s…” Taako trailed off and lifted his head, his cheeks reddening. “It’s kind of a big thing, and I need to figure out what I want before I bother you with it.”

_You would never bother me_ , Kravitz wanted to say, but he knew Taako wouldn’t be responsive to sappy coments like that right now. He had no idea what his fiance was talking about, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get Taako to talk until he was ready. Not this time.

He turned and kissed Taako’s cheek. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

Taako’s only response was to flush a bright red and lay his head back on his fiance’s shoulder in an attempt to hide it. Kravitz smiled, loving how Taako would still sometimes get flustered by Kravitz’s sentimental gestures even though they were engaged. He pulled his legs up onto the couch and tucked them behind Taako, stretching them the length of the couch as he laid down, and he pulled Taako down with him. The two laid like that until Kravitz felt himself fall into a light sleep.

Taako felt Kravitz’s breathing change as he fell asleep behind him and sighed. He felt bad for not talking to Kravitz about what was on his mind, especially since he knew that that was something he was supposed to work on. Communication and all that.

But he just couldn’t bring himself to talk about Angus. Not right now, anyway. He couldn’t get Ren’s words out of his head. 

_Angus looks up to you. He deserves a good home._

Taako had been angry when she said that. After all, who was  _she_ to judge whether Taako could provide a good home for a kid? He wasn’t the responsible type. He wasn’t a parent. Hell, he wasn’t even _home_ most of the time. And neither was Kravitz, for that matter. There were a million reasons why they shouldn’t take him in.

Sure, Angus had stayed with him before. He’d spent last Candlenights at Taako and Kravitz’s house, and it was great. But Taako knew that part of the reason it had been so great was because it was a temporary holiday. It wasn’t a permanent situation. When he wasn’t living at the school, Angus spent most of his time bouncing around from house to house, whether it was Magnus’s, or Lucretia’s, or anyone else’s. And everyone, including Angus, seemed to feel like that was enough.

Adopting Angus would mean more than just giving him an actual place to call home. It would mean  _raising_  him, and Taako was positive that he was ill-equipped for that. Angus seemed very mature for his age, sure, but in the end he was still a little boy with a lot of growing up to do. 

But Taako also knew without giving it too much thought that there was really no other option for Angus. Lup and Barry were just as busy as he and Kravitz were, and also didn’t really know Angus all that well. Davenport was always flying around on the Starblaster, which wasn’t exactly a good home for a kid. Merle was too busy with his own kids to take in another (and probably wouldn’t want to). And he remembered Carey and Killian saying they weren’t interested in having kids right now.

The only other people who were capable of taking him in were Magnus or Lucretia. But Raven’s Roost was much too far from the school and Magnus was probably too busy with his dogs. And Lucretia…well, Taako wasn’t in the habit of asking Lucretia for anything right now.

And then there was Kravitz. Taako knew that even if he decided that  _he_ wanted to take care of Angus, he had no idea how to broach the subject with his fiance. He had a feeling that Kravitz would be against it for all the practical reasons that Taako  _should_  be against it.

Taako sighed again and carefully unwrapped Kravitz’s arm from around his torso, getting up as gently as he could so as not to wake him. Once he was safely extracted, he moved to the kitchen. Maybe some cooking would help him think.

Twenty minutes later, Taako was deep in thought staring at his alfredo sauce when he felt Kravitz’s arms wrap around him from behind, and his chin rest on top of his head. Taako smiled instinctively. “Mornin, bone boy.”

Kravitz chuckled. “Morning.” He lifted his head off of Taako’s and moved so he could see his face. “You doing alright?”

Taako bit his lip. “Yeah. Mostly.”

“It must be something serious if you’re so hesitant to talk about it.”

A somber expression fell over Taako’s face. “Yeah,” was all he could manage to get out.

This only succeeded in worrying Kravitz. He put his hands on Taako’s shoulders and turned him so he was facing him. “Taako, please at least tell me what this is about.”

Taako chewed on his lip, feeling guilty for worrying his fiance so much. He refused to meet his gaze. “You know how Ren called me to the school today?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I thought that it was going to be some parents complaining about the required duels, but apparently it was something more personal.”

“Personal?” Kravitz sounded puzzled.

“Not personal for  _her_ ,” Taako noted, turning back to stir the sauce. Kravitz let go of his shoulders, moving one hand to the small of his back instead. “It was about, um…” Taako trailed off, feeling his heartbeat quicken anxiously as he spoke. “It was about Angus.”

Kravitz frowned in confusion. “Angus?”

Taako nodded, not looking up at him. “Yeah, apparently some bozos at the school are bullying him just because he doesn’t  _technically_  have parents. And the kid could always give them the what-for, but he’s too polite to do that.”

Kravitz blinked, trying to figure out what Taako was leading up to. “Okay…so why did she call you up to the school to tell you this?”

Taako didn’t respond.

“Taako?”

He stared intently at his sauce for a moment, then took a deep breath. “She wants u to adopt him.”

Kravitz was stunned. “ _Adopt_  him?”

He nodded, the tips of his ears twitching ever so slightly.

“What did you say to her?”

“I didn’t say anything, I just left.”

“You didn’t give her an answer?”

“What was I  _supposed_  to say?” Taako rounded on him, sounding a bit irritated. “That’s not a decision I can make on my own, plus there’s too much to consider. I needed to think.”

“So you  _are_  considering it?” Kravitz asked incredulously.

Taako’s ears flattened sheepishly against his head and he turned back to stir the sauce. “Are you saying we shouldn’t?” His voice was quiet.

“No, I just-” Kravitz stopped and took a breath, composing himself. “I love Angus, I really do. And I want to see him happy. But I’m just not sure that  _we’re_  the best option for him. I mean, I’m a  _literal_  agent of death. That doesn’t exactly mix well with raising a child. And neither of us are home that much-”

“I know,” Taako’s voice had a tone of annoyance to it again. “I  _know_ all of that, and it was the first thing I thought of when Ren asked…” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Kravitz just watched him, waiting. He knew Taako was trying to get himself to say something.

Taako removed his hand from his face and stared intently at the sauce. He took a few deep, shaky breaths, which Kravitz knew was a sign that he was trying to hold back tears. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and threatened to break.

“He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

Kravitz’s heart sank, and he realized just what had been on Taako’s mind all day. He’d been trying to think of other ways to solve the problem, of other homes that Angus could go to. He’d gone into this predicting that Kravitz wouldn’t be down for adopting a small boy, and he’d been trying to figure out other ways to help Angus instead.

Taako was an adult now, but Kravitz knew that deep down, he was still an orphaned boy who was never given a chance to have a decent home and a good family, other than Lup. And even though Angus was far from being unloved, Taako just wanted to save him from the same fate of bouncing from place to place, never being able to call one “home.”

His childhood was something that he never talked about, save for the funnier stories involving the antics he and Lup had gotten up to. Kravitz had a feeling that it was because his early years had been rougher and had affected him more than he cared to admit.

Kravitz took the spoon from Taako and put it down before pulling him into a hug. He felt Taako’s breathing get more shaky and less controlled as he gathered up some of Kravitz’s shirt in his fists and buried his head in his chest. Kravitz kissed the top of his head as Taako finally let himself cry.

“I’m sorry,” Kravitz whispered.

Taako sniffled. “I know we’re prob’ly not the best people for him, and I-” He was cut off by a sob. “I know that we don’t know anything about parenting, but-” he sobbed again.

Kravitz gently shushed him, stroking his hair. “It’s alright,” He said. He was ready to hold Taako until he finished crying, not caring if the sauce overcooked, or if he had to stand there and hold him all night. It took all of his restraint not to agree to adopt Angus right now just to make his fiance happy. But Kravitz knew that this was an important decision, and one that he should take some time to think about.

When Taako finished crying, Kravitz didn’t let go of him until he muttered something about needing to fix the sauce. Kravitz hovered as he watched Taako work, trying to remember how to speak. He checked the time. Gods, it was late. And even with the nap he took earlier, he was still more tired than he should be, considering he was dead. He could only imagine how tired Taako must be; he’d gotten in from the tour late last night and was woken up early this morning.

“Why don’t we both sleep on this and discuss it more tomorrow, hm?” Kravitz suggested. 

Taako nodded silently, scooping the cooked pasta out of its pot and stirring it into the sauce. They both ate dinner in silence, each one pondering the situation they were in.


	3. Fears and Doubts

Taako had trouble falling asleep that night. He tossed and turned, mildly worried about disturbing Kravitz. At one point, he must’ve fallen asleep and had some sort of nightmare, because he woke up to Kravitz holding him and shushing him, telling him everything was alright, telling him that he was safe. The weight of Kravitz’s arms helped him calm down and drift off into a more peaceful, dreamless sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, he silently slipped out of his fiance’s arms and out of bed, moving to the bathroom. He spent more time in the shower than he meant to because he kept spacing out, thinking about the predicament they were in. By the time he was clean and dry, though, he knew his answer beyond a shadow of a doubt. He wanted to adopt Angus.

Forming that conscious thought caused his heartbeat to quicken anxiously. Even knowing what he wanted to do, there was still so much to consider. How to take care of him. How to even go about adopting him. Whether or not Angus would  _want_  to be adopted, because of course his opinion mattered in all of this. And, of course, whether or not Kravitz would agree to it.

He exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his head and found that Kravitz was still asleep. Taako let out a snort.  _Sleeps like the dead,_ he thought. He quietly moved to readjust the blanket so it was covering his fiance more, even though it didn’t really matter. Kravitz instinctively grabbed the blanket and pulled it tighter around himself, and Taako couldn’t help but smile at how cute it was. He went back into the bathroom and unwrapped the towel from his head before carefully combing through his slightly damp hair, then went into the kitchen to start on coffee and breakfast.

He was staring at the eggs Benedict he was making - one of Kravitz’s favorite breakfasts - when he heard the sound of their bathroom sink running. Taako took a deep breath to brace himself. He was hoping Kravitz would wait until after breakfast to start their discussion, but he had to be prepared to talk just in case. 

Taako was removing the circular mold that he’d cooked the eggs in when he heard Kravitz’s footsteps approaching. He smiled. “Mornin’.”

Kravitz yawned. “Good morning.” He eyed the eggs that Taako was scooping out of the pan and onto a plated English muffin. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you wanted something from me.”

Taako only responded with a tight-lipped smile as he put the pan down and turned his head to let Kravitz kiss him. He then turned back and poured the hollandaise sauce over the eggs as Kravitz went to make them both some coffee. 

Taako set the plates down on the table and Kravitz set the coffee mugs, as per their usual routine when they were both home for breakfast. A few moments after they sat down, Kravitz noticed that Taako wasn’t eating and was instead just staring at his food.

He frowned. “Taako?”

“Huh? Oh, right, sorry.” Taako quickly took a forkful of his eggs and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, though, he realized that he wasn’t feeling very hungry. He put his fork down and picked up his mug, hoping that taking a few sips of coffee would hide the fact that he wasn’t planning to eat his breakfast.

It didn’t.

“Taako, you need to eat.” Kravitz’s voice was gentle. He was always so gentle with him. And patient. 

Taako begrudgingly put his mug down and took another bite of his food, doubts forming in his mind. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Angus  _shouldn’t_ live with them. After all, how could Taako take care of a kid when he needed to be reminded to take care of himself?

They ate in silence again, just like dinner the night before. All of Taako’s doubts started settling in, making him rethink his decision. What kind of caregiver could he be when he knew there were days when he couldn’t even get himself out of bed, much less eat?

He looked over at Kravitz, wondering what he was thinking. If he’d also made a decision. Taako was always worried about asking Kravitz for things because he knew his fiance had a tendency to just go along with whatever he wanted. Where they lived, how they lived, what they did, where they went. Taako felt guilty about it and always tried to stay conscious of it, and this was a big decision. What if this was where Kravitz drew the line? Or worse, what if he gave in only because it was another thing that Taako wanted? 

Taako finally managed to swallow down the last bite of his eggs, grimacing despite the fact that the food objectively tasted good (of course it did, Taako made it). Kravitz watched him over the rim of his mug as he took a sip of coffee, having finished his eggs a few moments ago. He put his mug down and pushed his plate aside to make room so he could fold his hands on the table. _Here we go._

“Taako…” Kravitz trailed off, looking thoughtful. “About Angus, I…after giving it some thought…” He sighed. “I think we... I mean I do  _want_  to take him in, but…” He shook his head with a sigh. “I’m just not sure if we  _should_.” He looked up at Taako, waiting for a response.

Taako stalled by taking a sip of coffee. “Krav…” He said, putting the mug down. “I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think we’re really cut out to raise a kid.”

Kravitz looked up at him in surprise. “What?”

“Yeah,” He continued, staring into his coffee and lightly rubbing the mug with his thumb. “It’s just…” He leaned back in his chair, trying to figure out his wording. “I’m not very good at taking care of  _myself_ sometimes. So I don’t know how much I’d be able to take care of someone of Angus’s age. I’m not…” He trailed off. “I have a lot of…doubts. About how good of a parent I’d be."

He continued. "But the way I see it," He said, leaning forward to stare into his coffee again. “We could search the entire planar system for the perfect parents for Angus, and we could send him off with them for a happily whatever-the-fuck you wanna call it. But…” He took a breath. “At the end of the day, I’d rather he be  _here_. And maybe I’m just being selfish in saying that,” He lifted his head and gestured vaguely with one hand before going back to staring at his drink. “But that’s…I guess that’s just how I feel.”

Kravitz took a few moments to respond. “But…what if what we want isn’t what’s best for Angus?”

Taako just nodded solemnly, staring distantly at the table. 

Kravitz continued. “What’s important is making sure to give Angus his best chance. And I have to wonder if…maybe that’s not us. We both love him, and that’s very important in a home situation, but there’s a lot more to raising a child than just loving them.”

“I know,” Taako said quietly, his voice sounding a bit rough. He started tracing the rim of his mug with his finger. “But…that’s the kind of thing that we can  _learn_ , right?” He asked, looking up at Kravitz. “I mean, I dunno, there are books for all that, and we could learn as we go. And…” He trailed off, looking back at his coffee. 

“Like I said,” He continued. “We could search everywhere for the perfect parents for him who’ll give him every opportunity he needs, but can we guarantee that they’ll be enough?” He frowned at his drink.

“Maybe not,” Kravitz answered. “But…” He trailed off with a sigh, shaking his head before resting his face in his hand. “Taako, the truth is…” He stopped again, staring at the table. After a few long moments, he looked up. “I’m scared.”

“Scared?” Taako sounded perplexed.

“Yeah, I mean,” Kravitz's gaze wandered while he thought. “I’m the  _Grim Reaper_. And I know that that’s something that’s been normalized to you and everyone else, but the fact remains that I’m a literal agent of death. And that doesn’t really mesh well with the concept of…” He gestured vaguely. “Helping to raise and guide a young life, so to speak. Does that make sense?” 

“Yeah, but…” Taako stared at the table for a moment, looking thoughtful. “I…have a question,” He said after a while. “Do you love Angus?”

Kravitz was taken aback. “Wha- Of course I do,” He answered.

Taako sighed. “As someone who was passed around a lot as a kid, I can really only speak from experience.” He looked up at Kravitz, but then averted his gaze again. “Lup and I…some of our family members had objectively great homes. Good opportunities, good areas, whatever. My grandpa had us working on a farm, which wasn’t all that glamorous and really sucked, but it’s one of those things that people say will teach a kid to value hard work and all that shit.” He gestured vaguely with his hand.

He continued. “But…out of all of those homes, our favorite was our aunt’s.” He looked at Kravitz. “She…wasn’t that great at parenting, had no idea what to do with two kids. I mean, fuck, she didn’t even know that a twin-size bed wouldn’t  _actually_  fit both twins,” He chuckled at the memory, then was silent for a moment as his expression grew serious again. “But she loved us. And she did her best, and we knew that. And I just think that…you and I can do that for Angus.” He looked up at Kravitz again.

Kravitz opened his mouth as if to argue, but Taako continued. “I know that you have doubts and fears. I do, too. But I…” He pursed his lips and sighed through his nose. “I don’t wanna let fear dictate my actions. And for what it’s worth,” His ears drooped in embarrassment as he averted his gaze again. “I think you’d make a great parent," He muttered.

Kravitz didn’t say anything, but Taako felt a warmed hand wrap around his own. He looked up to see Kravitz giving him a soft smile. 

Taako’s ear twitched and he felt his face heat up. “What, it’s not like I said anything groundbreaking,” He grumbled. 

Kravitz laughed. “Well, I appreciate it nonetheless.” He traced idle circles on Taako’s hand with his thumb. “You’re right,” He said after a while. “I guess I was too focused on how we could mess up.”

“Pfft,” Taako snorted. “Of course we’re gonna mess up. Who doesn’t?” 

Kravitz laughed, too. After he stopped, he was quiet, staring at his hand that was covering Taako’s. After a few moments, he spoke again. “So…should we talk to Angus after school on Monday?”

Feeling his chest swell with elation, Taako shifted his hand so his fingers were interlocking with Kravitz’s. “Sounds like a plan.”


	4. Something to Discuss

From the window of Taako’s office, the pair could easily see Angus as he walked with one of his classmates to the school’s gate, seeing them off at the end of the day and laughing at something they said.

Rolling a nat20 on his perception check, Taako could see with his apparent laser vision when Angus smiled at something his classmate said, looking a little flustered. 

Taako leaned over to Kravitz. “You think he has a crush on that kid?”

Kravitz elbowed him. “Leave him be.”

Taako just smirked before something else caught his attention. Standing near a tree some twenty feet away from Angus was a group of kids who were watching him intently. Once Angus’s classmate left, the group started approaching him from behind. He noticed them and turned around to face them, giving a polite smile and saying something that was probably a greeting. 

“Are those the kids?” Kravitz asked. “We should get down there. “ He turned towards the door but Taako caught him by the wrist.

“Wait,” Taako said, his expression unreadable.

Kravitz turned back to the window and they both watched Angus’s exchange with the kids. One of them went to try to smack his book out of his hands, but Angus held fast to it, keeping his polite grin as he said something else. Another one walked up to him and shoved him. He stumbled backwards, but kept his footing. The grin faded from his face and was replaced by a calm, almost bored expression.

“He doesn’t seem fazed by these kids,” Kravitz commented.

“He’s putting up a front,” Taako muttered. He turned away from the window, a thoughtful look on his face. He looked back at Kravitz. “I have an idea.”

* * *

“If you’re really some big tough guy who fought the Hunger, then prove it,” Mack said, raising his wand and pointing it at Angus.

Angus fought to keep his expression neutral. He knew by now that if he showed any emotion, they would pounce on it. “I’d…rather not,” he said, glad that his voice came out even.

Mack scoffed. “Run home and cry to your parents then, you baby. Oh wait,” He leaned his face much too close to Angus’s. “You don’t have any.”

Angus willed himself to keep eye contact with Mack, knowing he couldn’t afford to flinch. He was so focused he almost didn’t hear the familiar sound of a dimensional rip.

With a sound like a thousand papers ripping in half, a tear in space opened near the kids. Out of its unseen depths floated the Grim Reaper, skeletal and terrifying, cloaked in black and carrying a scythe whose blade glinted in the sunlight. His eyes were no more than glowing red orbs in the sockets of his skull as he slowly turned to gaze upon each child.

The group of kids who were harassing Angus all stumbled and fell backward in fright, a couple of them screaming. Angus, who had of course seen Kravitz, Lup, and Barry in their skeletal forms before, only beamed. “Mister Kravitz!”

Taako stepped out of the portal behind his fiance and it closed behind him. He was studying his nails, looking as bored as if he were in the middle of a business meeting. As if he  _hadn’t_  just stepped out of a portal behind a terrifying agent of death that had just scared the wits out of some kids.

Taako looked up and acted like he’d just noticed Angus. “Oh, Agnes!” He said. “Fancy meetin’ you here.”

“I go to school here, sir,” Angus reminded him. He couldn’t help but smile, though, as Taako reached down and ruffled his hair. Taako then glanced disinterestedly at the group of kids, who were still on the ground and looked like they were having trouble processing what was happening.

“Are these your friends?” He asked offhandedly. Then he seemed to realize something. “Oh!” He turned to his fiance, still floating silently in his skeletal form. “Krav, hon, I think you’re scaring the kids.”

Angus thought he could catch a glimmer of mischief in Taako’s eyes when he said that, and wondered if this was something the two adults had planned. He wouldn’t put it past Taako to plan a stunt like this, after all. Angus didn’t mind, though. It was pretty funny seeing Mack and his group get scared like that.

“Hm? Oh,” Kravitz quickly disappeared his scythe and transformed back into his human construct. He smoothed down his suit and patted his tied-back dreadlocks, as if worried something would be out of place. 

One of the kids found her voice. “M-Mister Taako! We didn’t know you were coming to the school today!”

Taako glanced at the girl, a look of vague disdain on his face. “Just here to pick up m’boy,” he said, plopping his hand down on top of Angus’s head again. Angus felt an inexplicable happiness as Taako said that. 

“Your…what?” Mack asked, still eyeing Kravitz warily.

Angus felt his face heat up. “Uh, sir, I think you’re giving them the wrong idea…” He mumbled, feeling embarrassed. Taako and Kravitz weren’t his parents, and he didn’t need these kids having  _that_  to hold over him, too.

“Wait,” Angus said, realizing something. “Did you say you were here to pick me up?”

“Yeah, Ango, you’re comin’ to our place tonight,” Taako spoke as if it were something that they’d previously agreed on, even though Angus was sure that they hadn’t.

“I am?”

“Yeah, kid, let’s go get your stuff from your room so we can be on our way,” Taako said, steering Angus towards the building with a hand on his head. He looked back and nodded at Kravitz, who seemed to understand what he was trying to convey and stayed where he was, calmly standing near the still-wary kids.

Taako removed his hand from Angus’s head once they were inside. “Good lord, that was very nasty,” He said as he and Angus walked towards the dormitories. “Do those kids bother you much?”

Angus felt his face heat up again. “I-It’s nothing I can’t handle, sir.”

Taako stayed staring ahead, but his expression grew serious. “You shouldn’t have to handle it,” He muttered. 

Angus looked up at his mentor in surprise. Taako wasn’t usually one to speak so seriously to him. “Sir?”

Taako shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and looked down at Angus with a smirk. “Yeah?”

“Am I really staying with you and Kravitz tonight?”

“Of course you are, pumpkin,”Taako said. “Would I lie to you?”

“You have before, sir,” Angus pointed out.

Taako laughed. “You got me there.” His smile faded and his expression grew a bit more serious, though Angus could tell he was still trying to keep up his aloof nature.

Angus’s room was a large dorm that he shared with four other kids, one of whom was inside. Immediately recognizing Taako, they leapt out of their bed and stood almost at attention. “M-Mister Taako!”

“S’all good, Harper,” Taako said, recognizing the kid. He knew all of the kids who were living at the school. “Just taking Agnes here for the night.”

Harper relaxed a bit and climbed back on their bed, picking their book back up. Instead of going back to reading, though, they just watched Angus and Taako.

Angus picked up his overnight bag and started collecting some of his things. “Sir, can I ask  _why_  I’m staying with you tonight? Not that I’m complaining-” He quickly added. No, he was definitely  _not_  complaining. He loved being at Taako and Kravitz’s house. “It’s just unusual for you to have me over on a school night.”

“Well, uh,” Taako glanced back at Harper, who quickly ducked their head behind their book. “Krav and I just have some things we wanna talk to you about, is all. And we figured it’d be easier to discuss at h-” He stopped and cleared his throat. “At our place.”

Angus frowned as he folded up a shirt.

“Put the thinking cap away, Ango, there’ll be time for that later,” Taako said, easily recognizing Angus’s detective face. 

Angus’s cheeks darkened. “Yes, sir,” He said, quickly turning to go into the shared bathroom to get his toiletries. Once he was inside, though, he most certainly put his thinking cap back  _on_. What would Taako and Kravitz want to talk to him about? What could be so serious that they felt the need to have him over to discuss it? And why did Taako stop himself from saying the word ‘home?’ 

A hopeful thought formed in Angus’s mind, but he quickly squashed it down as heat rose to his face. No, that was ridiculous. And unlikely. And…just too much to even  _consider_ hoping for. He grabbed his stuff and went back into the room, then placed them in his bag and zipped it up.

“That everything?” Taako asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright, then let’s get this show on the road,” Taako said, picking up Angus’s bag for him - a surprising gesture - and waved at Harper. “See ya, Harpo,” He said, leading Angus out of the room.

They exited the building and found that Kravitz was now alone in the courtyard. 

“Where’d the kids go?” Taako asked.

Kravitz shrugged innocently. “Dunno. I just mentioned something about not having harvested any souls in a while and they all took off.”

Taako cackled while Angus laughed a bit more nervously. 

Kravitz took the bag from Taako and turned to Angus. “You okay with traveling via inter-dimensional portal?”

“Y-Yes, sir,” Angus said, feeling more nervous. He’d traveled through Kravitz’s portals a couple times before, and the sensation hadn’t been great. 

Taako seemed to notice Angus’s nervousness as Kravitz summoned his scythe and sliced it through the air. He hesitated before reaching down and taking Angus’s hand. “Don’t sweat it, kid, I gotcha."

Angus looked at his hand that was now interlocked with Taako’s in surprise before looking up at him. Taako gave him a brief, confident smile. Angus took a breath before nodding, indicating that he was ready. 

The two followed Kravitz into the portal. The sensation still made Angus nauseous, but the weight of Taako’s hand kept him grounded. They exited the portal into Taako and Kravitz’s living room, and Angus stumbled, losing his footing. Taako quickly put his other hand under Angus’s free arm, steadying him. 

Once Angus had his footing, Taako let go of him, standing up straight. “Takes some getting used to, I know.”

“Thank you, sir,” Angus said, remembering his manners.

“You alright, Angus?” Kravitz asked, disappearing his scythe and putting Angus’s bag down on the couch. 

“I’m alright, sir, just a little unsteady,” Angus said, sitting down on the couch.

“Yeah,” Taako said. “Those things aren’t really meant for the living to use. But hell if they’re not convenient,” He added, prompting Kravitz to elbow him. “What?” He asked. “I’ve cursed in front of the kid before.”

Angus laughed. “It’s alright, sirs,” He said. “If I may ask, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

Taako and Kravitz exchanged looks before Taako turned on his heel towards the kitchen. “I’m sure you’re hungry, so I’ll whip something up,” He said over his shoulder.

Kravitz hung back and smiled awkwardly. “Why don’t we go ahead and get your homework out of the way first?”

Angus reluctantly complied. He should’ve known the two adults would put off talking to him. Kravitz preferred to avoid awkward situations and Taako was always hesitant to have serious discussions. 

He quietly gathered his school things from his bag and carried them to the dining room table, wondering how long he’d have to wait before Taako and Kravitz were ready to talk.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a lot longer than the other ones, you've been warned!

Taako spent a lot more time than necessary in the kitchen considering that he came out with just a plate of apple slices, which Angus took gratefully (albeit a little suspicious as to why Taako had taken so long).

Angus munched on the apple slices while Kravitz helped him with his homework, relaxing a bit more as time went on. Kravitz and Taako’s nervousness had put him on edge at first, but spending time with them was always fun. He tried to keep his mind off of whatever they’d brought him here for, since thinking about it only succeeded in making him nervous.

He finished his homework and slipped it back into his folder, then looked up at the other two. Taako was showing the tell-tale signs of a suspect who was about to try to make an escape, and Angus knew he would have to put his foot down if he didn’t want the adults to avoid the conversation all night.

“S-Sirs,” Angus stuttered, staring at the table instead of at them. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to know why you brought me here. Please.”

Taako’s ears flattened as he glanced over at Kravitz, who bit his lip and stared down at his folded hands before looking up at Angus. “Angus, you, uh…” Kravitz trailed off. “How do you like living at the school?” He asked a bit too cheerfully.

Angus blinked, a little confused by the question. “Um, it’s alright. It’s good! It gets kinda hectic having four roommates, especially since we only have one bathroom to share. B-But it’s still nice!” He hastily added, not wanting to sound ungrateful since it was Taako's school. “It’s nice to have a more normal living situation after having lived in hotels and, well, on the moon,” He finished with an awkward chuckle.

Angus noticed that Taako’s ear twitched for some reason. Kravitz glanced over at his fiance, then back to Angus, looking more nervous now. “Well, uh…if you were given the choice, would you prefer to… _keep_ living at the school?”

Angus frowned, more confused now. “As opposed to what?”

“Uh, w-well,” Kravitz fumbled, glancing over at Taako, who had been silently watching his fiance struggle this whole time. 

Taako let out a slightly impatient sigh. “As opposed to here.”

The feeling of shock froze Angus in his seat. Did he say here? Like… _here_? With them? He blinked a couple times, his detective brain working at double speed in an attempt to comprehend the situation. “Live…here?” Was all he managed to get out.

Taako’s ears flattened again and he looked like he was biting back a retort. 

Kravitz took over again, speaking too quickly and stumbling over his words. “Yeah, well…we were talking about it and- And decided that you were probably tired of living at the school and bouncing around to different places during vacation, so you might want a more permanent living situation. But if you’d rather not, then that’s understandable-”

“No, I-” Angus interrupted, then stopped as he felt his face heat up. “I never said that,” He said in a small voice.

Taako was silent for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, I’m gonna- I’m gonna cut the crap here, mostly because this is getting embarrassing.” He steepled his fingers together, then pointed them at Angus. “We want to adopt you. You in or you out?”

That only succeeded in stupefying Angus more, and Kravitz looked over at his fiance with an exasperated expression. “I thought we agreed not to just spring it on him like that.”

“Well, I was tired of watching you flounder around,” Taako countered. “And he’s fine, right Ango?”

Angus only stared at him, mouth agape.

“Oh gods, I broke him.”

“Angus?” Kravitz asked, sounding concerned and reaching a hand out to the small boy.

Angus shook his head rapidly, breaking himself out of his astonishment. “You-you-you…” He trailed off, feeling tears well up in his eyes that he tried to hold back. “You want to adopt me?” His voice came out smaller than he’d intended, betraying the fact that he really was just a little boy despite how mature he usually acted.

Taako’s ears pressed back in embarrassment. “Well, yeah…” He averted his gaze. “You’re a good kid and you deserve a good home andwebothloveyou I  _guess_ ,” He spoke quickly and put emphasis on the last word as if attempting to play off the fact that he just admitted to loving Angus. “But it’s not a big deal if you don’t want to-” (though Taako’s flushed ears said otherwise) “-since I know for a fact that you got good digs down at my school and you probably don’t wanna live with a coupla weird dudes like us-”

“What Taako’s trying to say,” Kravitz interrupted Taako’s rambling, seeming more calm now. “Is that we understand that this is a big decision. We want you to take your time with it and there’s  _no pressure_ -” He gave his fiance a pointed look “-to make a certain decision, okay?”

Angus was barely listening to either of them as he tried to focus on his breathing, trying to compose himself. Ever since his grandpa had died, he’d lived going from place to place, staying in rooms above taverns in towns he was working in, surviving off of his detective money. At the time, he’d thought to himself that it wasn’t the best situation, but at least he could afford to support himself. When the Director (nowadays she insisted he call her Lucretia) had found him and offered him a job and a room up on the moon base, he’d thought to himself that it couldn’t get better than that. But then they defeated the Hunger and Taako opened up his school, and he’d even included a boarding option for kids like Angus! So he could go to school like a normal boy and not have to worry about where he would sleep at night! And during vacations, he had any number of people to visit and stay with! Surely, he’d thought, this was the best it could get.

He’d never imagined he’d get adopted. He never wasted his time the way his roommates did, never preened himself for the prospective parents that sometimes visited the school. He told himself he didn’t need to be adopted, and convinced himself he didn’t want it either. He had enough people that he considered family, even if nothing was official. 

But that had been a lie, of course, and he’d told it well. But the tightness in his chest told him the truth now. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be adopted, it was that he didn’t want to be adopted by  _just anybody_. He wanted to be adopted by people he already knew and loved, though he’d never let himself admit it until now.

No, right now Taako and Kravitz were sitting across from him and watching him, waiting for him to give some sort of response, some indication that he’d even registered what they’d said to him. He stammered, trying to get words out.

“W-Well, I…I guess I should-” He stopped himself. He was going to say he’d think about it, but he didn’t  _need_  to think about it. He had his answer. He’d known it for months now, every time he’d spent the night at their house or had been unexpectedly picked up from school and taken out somewhere. 

He shook his head vigorously, clearing his thoughts and looking up at the two of them. He felt a wide smile split his face. “I-I would love to live with you!”

Kravitz blinked in surprise. “You- Really?” He looked over at Taako, who seemed to be working to keep his expression neutral. He looked back at Angus. “Are you sure?”

Angus’s vision blurred as he nodded, not trusting his voice to say anything else.

“W-Well alright, then!” Kravitz said, looking both awkward and relieved. He turned to Taako, who stood up abruptly, his expression unreadable.

He crossed his arms. “Well, I’m glad we got that all squared away,” He said, turning towards the kitchen. “I gotta make dinner.”

Knowing better than to let Taako get away, Angus charged after him and tackled him with a hug from the side, hearing Taako let out an “Oof!” of surprise as he buried his face in Taako’s shirt.

He felt a hand on his head. “Jeez, kid, you don’t have to be so ferocious about it,” Taako said, and Angus could hear him straining to keep the aloof tone in his voice. He felt him hesitate. “Are you crying?”

“No,” Angus’s voice was muffled by Taako’s shirt. He sniffled. Not yet, he wasn’t. He felt Taako hesitate again, then twist around in his grasp and kneel down to wrap his arms around him in a tight hug. Angus, whose head was now level with Taako’s shoulder, buried his face in it, the tears leaking out of his eyes now.

He felt Taako’s hand on the back of his head. “Hey, if you’re gonna cry, I’m gonna cry,” He grumbled. “And then I’ll be mad at you for making me cry.”

Angus let out a light chuckle, sniffling as he lifted his head off of Taako’s shoulder. “Sorry.”

Taako let go of him and stood up, crossing his arms and getting a mischievous gleam in his eye. “Now, there are some ground rules for living here. No breakfast before 11am and no reading after dark. You can only do laundry on the third Sunday of every month, and Kravitz is the authority on how much laundry sauce you can use.”

Angus frowned. “Laundry sau-”

“The only flowers allowed inside are sunflowers and lavender, and even then they must go through  _my_ approval,” Taako continued as Kravitz walked up to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “This is a chenille-only house as far as blankets go, and you have to fold them into perfect 18-inch squares when you’re done with them. And no dating until you’re twenty-three.”

Angus frowned again, unsure which rules were serious and which were jokes. He glanced at Kravitz, who closed his eyes and shook his head, mouthing the word “no.” Angus decided to go along with it. “Yes, sir.”

“Oh, that’s another thing,” Taako said. “And this one’s serious. No more calling us ‘sirs’ or ‘Mister Kravitz’ or ‘His Excellency, Lord Taako,’ as flattering as that is. It’s just too formal if you’re gonna be living under our roof.”

Confused, Angus stammered out an apology. “S-sorry. What should I call you, then?”

“Well-” Taako stopped, his ears sticking up and his face flushing a bright red. “Just- Just ‘Taako and Kravitz’ is fine, don’t worry about that.”

“Uh, okay,” Angus said, wondering why Taako suddenly looked so flustered. 

Taako’s ear twitched and he looked over at Kravitz, as if asking for help. Kravitz, getting the hint, clapped his hands together. “Why don’t we get started on dinner and we can discuss more details later, hm?”

Angus followed them into the kitchen, eager to help. He loved helping Taako cook, and it was always one of his favorite parts of visiting. He felt his heartbeat quicken a bit at the thought that if they adopted him, this would become a more commonplace thing.

As usual, cooking was a cheerful affair and the awkwardness eased as Taako mercilessly made fun of Kravitz’s incompetence, then turned around and gave Angus another vegetable to chop, complimenting his technique even though Angus knew he wasn’t that great at chopping. 

They sat down to dinner and ate in silence for a few minutes. After a while, Kravitz started speaking, sounding a more formal and business-like. “So, there are a few procedures we have to follow, which means that you’ll have to continue living at the school for the next few weeks while we’re evaluated and the paperwork is processed. But after everything is finalized, you can move in.”

Angus nodded, taking out his detective notepad and scribbling down the information. “Okay.”

“We live close enough to the school that you can walk every day if you want to, but we could also give you a lift when you want.”

Angus paused, wondering what exactly that would entail. They didn’t own a wagon. Garyl? Kravitz’s portals? He didn’t want to think about it.

Kravitz continued. “We can, uh, renovate the guest room that you usually sleep in so that it’s yours, if you want. Oh, and don’t worry, we won’t interfere with any detective cases you get hired on.”

“Unlesh they shound cool,” Taako butted in, his mouth full. He swallowed his food and pointed his fork at Angus. “Then I want a piece of that action.”

Angus laughed. “I don’t really get that many detective cases nowadays.”

“We’ll have to change that,” Taako muttered, eliciting a glare from Kravitz. “What? I’m only trying to think of his business!”

* * *

Word of Angus’s adoption managed to spread throughout the school despite the fact that he never said anything to anyone about it. His roommates were happy for him despite their jealousy, and he guiltily assured them that they would all get adopted one day, too.

One thing that didn’t manage to get out, though, was  _who_  had adopted Angus. Kids peppered him with questions, asking who his new parents were. He didn’t budge on that information. He knew that once word got out that Taako - founder of the school and one of the world’s saviors - had adopted him, he would never hear the end of it. It was an inevitable thing, but he didn’t mind putting it off for a little while.

About two weeks after Angus’s discussion with Taako and Kravitz, he was hanging out in the schoolyard, sitting against a tree and reading the latest Caleb Cleveland novel when he saw in his periphery a group of feet standing near him. He looked up disinterestedly at Mack and his gang.

“So, crybaby, who’d you  _trick_ into adopting you?” Mack asked, his hands on his hips. 

Angus sighed and forced a grin. He supposed he should’ve been glad that it had taken this long for Mack to find out, but he only felt irked. “Hello, Mack!” He forced cheerfulness. 

“I asked you a  _question_ , crybaby,” Mack said, towering over Angus. Why did he even call him crybaby? Angus had never cried in front of him. It didn’t make sense. 

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but I really don’t think it’s any of your fucking business,” Angus chirped, keeping up the cheerful tone.

“Whoa-ho,” Mack said, throwing his hands up in mock-surrender and acting impressed. “Looks like crybaby here has some spice, after all.”

Watching him, Angus noticed that Mack turned to specifically look at one of the other boys when he said that. Brent was his name, and Angus actually thought he could recall receiving a valentine’s day card from him before he joined Mack’s group. In fact, now that he thought about it, Angus could recall many occasions where Mack had glanced over at Brent while posturing like this. After some thinking (and a nat20 on his investigation check), Angus put his book down. He had an idea.

“Mack, could I talk to you for a moment in private?” Angus asked, standing up and dusting off his shorts. 

“Pfft, what, you wanna beg me for mercy?” Mack asked, rolling his eyes.

“Something like that.” Angus motioned for Mack to follow him a few feet away from the rest of the group so they were out of earshot. “So let me see if I’ve got this straight; you like Brent, right?”

Mack’s face paled in horror and he glanced over at the group of kids as if to make sure they hadn’t heard Angus before grabbing his shoulder and dragging him further away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh,” Angus said, wrenching his shoulder out of Mack’s grip and smoothing down his shirt. “If I’ve got this right, I’d say he had a crush on me and you thought the best way to win him over was to start bullying me.” He glanced over his shoulder at Brent, who was watching them curiously. Angus shrugged. “I guess it worked.”

“L-Look, I don’t know what you think you’re on about-”

“Do you like him?”

Mack stammered for a moment, looking around like a suspect who was on the verge of confessing. He looked down at the ground, his face beet red. “Yeah,” He quietly admitted. “Since we were five.”

Angus thought to himself that that was quite a long time to have a crush on someone. Mack might even think he loved him. But…no, this probably wasn’t love that Mack was feeling. When Angus pictured love, he pictured Taako and Kravitz teasing each other as they cooked, both grinning ear-to-ear. He pictured Lup and Barry hugging for a good twenty minutes on the day she got her body back. He pictured Carey and Killian, dancing together at their wedding. He pictured Magnus talking about Julia, and showing him their wedding portrait. No, this was probably just a schoolyard crush that Mack had. Still, it seemed significant that he’d had these feelings for so long. It had probably been pretty awful for him when he found out Brent had had a crush on Angus.

Angus continued. “Look, I just think you’re wasting your time and energy coming after me when you could just tell him you like him. Trust me,” He recalled something Barry had said to him. “You don’t want to wait too long to tell someone how you feel.”

Mack looked very confused at having received such sage advice from someone his age. He glanced back at the other kids, then skeptically looked back at Angus. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”

Angus shrugged. “You don’t, I guess. But I think you know I’m right.” He glanced at Brent, who was still watching them, then leaned closer to Mack as if telling him a secret. “For what it’s worth, I think he likes you, too.”

Mack’s face turned a bright red. “Y-You do?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Angus nodded seriously, hoping he was right. His life practically depended on it at this point.

Mack swallowed nervously and glanced between Angus and the other kids a few times before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking back to the group. Angus watched him approach Brent and mutter something before waving his hand to dismiss the other kids, who scattered across the schoolyard. Mack nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he talked to Brent, and Angus’s breath caught in his throat as he watched with anticipation. After a moment, Brent smiled sheepishly and said something back, nodding. A smile broke across Mack’s face, and the two walked off together in a nervous pair. 

Angus sighed with relief before returning to his tree and picking his book back up. He had a feeling that would be the last of his bullies.

* * *

About a week later, Angus got a call on his stone early in the morning, when he and his roommates were getting ready for school.

“Hello?” 

“Agnes! It’s your favorite elf!”

Angus grinned, feeling a bit mischievous. “Ren?”

“You take that back right fucking now,” Taako spat.

Angus stifled a laugh. “Why are you up so early, s-” He stopped and cleared his throat. “Is something wrong?”

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Taako said. He had that specific tone of boredom in his voice that sounded like he was trying to cover up excitement. “I just got a call from Ren saying that everything’s been processed. We’ve officially adopted you, boychik. Er, pumpkin.”

Angus’s heart stopped, both from the news and from the term of endearment that Taako had initially used. He hadn’t been called that since his grandpa had died. Shaking his head, he decided to focus on the more important matter. “R-Really?”

“Yeah, everything’s finalized. Kravitz is stopping by after school to help you move everything out. Thank Istus it’s Friday, am I right?”

“That’s great news, sir! Oh, sorry- Taako.” He corrected, too excited to keep a hold of himself. He glanced at his stuff that was only half-packed, feeling guilty. “I’m, uh, I haven’t finished packing, yet.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Magnus is in town, I’ll send him, too. The big lug won’t even need boxes.”

Angus let out a nervous laugh as one of his roommates noticed him on the stone and gave him a questioning look. He frowned at them and shook his head, speaking to Taako. “I, uh, I gotta go, I gotta get to class.”

“Alright, alright, see you at home, then,” Taako said, then promptly hung up.

Angus felt a tightness in his chest as he slowly lowered his stone.  _Home_. He had a home now. And after today, he’d be sleeping there every night, waking up in his own room every day. He had a place he would return to after school every day, a dining room table that he could use for homework if he didn’t want to use his desk. He’d have his own space, his own place to grow. And this time it would last. The realization of it all threatened to make him cry, and his grip on his stone tightened as he tried to compose himself. He didn’t want to cry before school started.

He was distracted the whole day, too filled with excitement and nervousness to fully focus on his classes. As soon as the final bell rang, Angus rushed back to his dorm in hopes of getting more packing done before Kravitz and Magnus showed up.

Once he got to his room, though, he discovered that they were already in there. Magnus, whom he hadn’t seen in a few months, stood up from where he was looking under Angus’s bed. “Ango!” He shouted, throwing his arms up. 

“Hello, sir!” Angus said back shortly before he was scooped up by the large man. 

Magnus ruffled his hair, still keeping hold of him as he turned to Kravitz. “Gee Krav, your  _son_  seems more excited to see me than to see you.”

Kravitz only gave a tight smile, not quite as affected by Magnus’s choice of phrasing as Taako would probably be. “He hasn’t seen you in a while, Magnus, of course he’s excited.” He turned back to the box he was packing, picking up one of Angus’s stuffed animals and gently placing it inside.

Angus squirmed out of Magnus’s grip and managed to land on his feet as he dropped him. He bounced up and down on his toes, finally letting himself feel excited. “It’s moving day, sir! I’m moving today!”

Magnus let out a booming laugh. “It sure is, kiddo! D’you mind giving me a hand with this?” He gestured towards a half-filled box.

The three of them packed away the last of Angus’s stuff and carried it downstairs and out of the building, where Magnus’s wagon was waiting. It took a few trips, and their actions drew the attention of the students who were hanging out in the schoolyard. They all recognized Kravitz as Taako’s mysterious fiance that often visited the school with him, but most of them seemed to be confused as to who Magnus was, and stared at him like he looked familiar but they couldn’t place his face. Angus wondered how long it would be before they recognized him from the story that was broadcasted throughout existence.

He felt his face heat up as people watched him, whispering to each other. He had a feeling that on Monday there was going to be different rumors going around about who exactly had adopted him.

Angus hugged each of his roommates, who looked teary-eyed at seeing him go. He reassured them that it wasn’t like he was leaving forever, he was still going to the school and he’d see them on Monday. He then hopped in the back of the wagon and waved good-bye. The wagon ride was short, only about five minutes since Taako and Kravitz’s house was within walking distance of the school. 

When they pulled up to the house, Angus felt his heart tighten in his chest. Magnus lifted him out of the wagon and handed him one of the lighter boxes before proceeding to pick up about five boxes himself. Kravitz also grabbed a box and went ahead of them. 

When Kravitz opened the door, Angus gasped. There were so many people inside! He was immediately charged and picked up by Killian, who was shouting something that he was too distracted to hear as she lifted him up. He clutched the box he was holding like his life depended on it as his head whipped around, trying to see who all was here.

He easily spotted Lup, Barry, Merle, Davenport, Ren, Carey, and, of course, Killian, who was holding him. Lucretia was even there, and a small part of him wondered if someone had had to convince Taako to invite her. 

“Wh- What’s-” Angus stammered, instinctively squirming until Killian put him down.

Taako appeared nearby, arms crossed and a coy smile on his face. “What, you didn’t think we weren’t gonna have a lil shindig for this, did you?”

Angus just continued stammering. Taako glanced around at the party. “I think I broke him again,” He said to no one in particular.

Getting his bearings, Angus beamed. “E-Everyone’s here!” He exclaimed, looking around.

“Eh, well,” Lup said, shrugging as she sauntered up and ruffled Angus’s hair. “I wasn’t gonna pass up a chance to meet my new  _nephew_.”

Taako gave her a reproachful look, his cheeks tinged a bit red. “Yeah, yeah, everyone’s here, and they’re all already on  _thin fucking ice_  ‘cause they keep making bad jokes.”

Angus laughed nervously. Behind him, Magnus’s booming voice sounded out. “Anyone wanna help get all of Ango’s stuff inside?”

With the whole party helping, it only took about one or two trips per person to get Angus’s stuff inside and in his new room. He stood among his boxes as someone put the last one down and left his room, leaving him alone. He didn’t have very many things, and his favorite stuffed animals were already on the bed (he’d kept them here for fear that keeping them at the school would end up with them getting stolen). He could see that Taako and Kravitz had already gotten him new sheets, because instead of the generic guest-room sheets that he’d always slept under, there were now sheets that seemed to be magic-themed, with various types of wands and tell-tale glimmers of magic spells patterning the bedding. 

Other than that, the room wasn’t very different. Taako had said that he would let Angus figure out how he wanted to decorate it, and he’d apparently stayed true to his word. He looked around at his boxes, wondering when he should start unpacking. Not now, right? There was a party going on. But instinct had him opening the nearest box that held some of his knick-knacks. Maybe he would just unpack a little bit. He wasn’t ready to go back out yet, anyway.

Laying safely on top of the rest of the contents of the box was a picture. Well, technically a picture-turned-painting. It had been a gift from Lucretia this past Candlenights, and she had re-painted a photo of Angus with pretty much everyone. He was in the middle, precariously perched on Magnus’s shoulders, and they both had great big smiles on their faces. On their left were Taako and Kravitz, arm-in-arm. Taako had a wicked smirk on his face while Kravitz had posed looking more regal and serious (Taako had teased him endlessly about that). Taako’s other arm was wrapped around Lup, two fingers sticking out from behind her head as if to give her bunny ears, and her arm was positioned to do the same to him. Her tongue was sticking out in a cheeky grin, and she was perched on Barry’s back piggy-back style. Barry was mid-laugh, since Lup had surprised him by jumping on his back at the last second. 

On Magnus and Angus’s other side was Lucretia, glancing up at Angus as if worried Magnus would drop him. Next to her was Merle, making a peace sign with one hand while the other was wrapped around Davenport’s shoulders. Davenport had his thumb and forefinger wrapped around his chin and his eyes were narrowed in a joking attempt to look very formal and serious. Easily tall enough to stand behind the two were Carey and Killian. Carey had half-climbed up Killian’s side and the two were beaming at each other instead of at the camera.

Angus smiled at the painting before carefully placing it on his desk. It was one of his favorite possessions. Secretly, he referred to it as a family portrait. He unpacked a couple other decorations before Taako appeared in his doorway.

“Not one for parties, huh?” Taako asked. 

“Oh, no, I love parties!” Angus quickly insisted, a little startled by Taako’s sudden appearance. “I’m, uh, I’m just not used to parties that are sort of…for me.”

Taako nodded thoughtfully. “Hm. Well,” He weaved through the boxes and sat on the edge of Angus’s bed. “Guess I’ll sit in here with you, then.”

Angus blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah, sure, pumpkin,” Taako said distractedly, picking up a nearby stuffed animal and examining it.

Angus felt his face heat up as he stood near Taako, remembering something from earlier and trying to get up the nerve to bring it up. Now was probably the best time, right?

“Um, Taako?”

“Yeah?” Taako looked up from the stuffed animal.

Angus looked down, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “Um- Uh, earlier, on the stone, you uh, you sort of called me by this one word-”

“Oh, yeah, sorry about that,” Taako interrupted, his ears flattening. “That was uh, that was just something that people used to call me when I was a kid. Just slipped out, I guess.”

“No, no, I uh,” Angus said, his face feeling hot as his voice turned to a mumble. “I actually really liked it,” He said to the ground.

Taako’s ear twitched. “Really?”

“Yeah! Uh,” Angus looked back up at him. “My grandpa used to call me that all the time, and I haven’t really heard it since he died, and I really missed it.”

Taako looked thoughtful for a moment. “Alright then, boychik,” He said, eliciting a grin from Angus. “Howzabout we go back out to the party?”

Angus glanced back at the boxes of stuff, then turned back to Taako and nodded. Taako put a hand on Angus’s head, pretending to use it to brace himself as he stood up.

“Then let’s get out there,” Taako said.

The two went back out to the main part of the house, and Angus was immediately tackled by Mookie, who had probably just arrived. Angus fruitlessly tried to wrestle with the stronger boy until he heard Merle’s voice call out.

“Mookie! I told ya, the kid’s a wimp. Get off of him,” He scolded, tottering up to the two and lifting Mookie by the back of his shirt. 

Taako, who had been too startled to do anything when Mookie had tackled Angus, glared at Merle. Whether it was because he was mad that Merle’s son had tackled Angus or because Merle had called him a wimp, Angus didn’t know.

Angus scrambled to his feet, straightening out his school uniform that he was still wearing. “That’s alright, sir!” He quickly insisted, readjusting his glasses. “It was a very good tackle, and your boy’s very strong! You should be proud of him!”

“Daddy, I wanna wrassle ‘im!” Mookie shouted, still being held by his shirt like a kitten being held by the scruff of its neck.

“Alright, Mookie, how about this?” Merle said, turning his son away from Angus. “You see that big guy over there?” He pointed at Magnus. “Why don’t you go wrestle with him?”

“Okay!” Mookie shouted, charging towards Magnus like a bull as soon as Merle released him. He barely avoided knocking over an end table, and Lucretia had to dodge out of his way as he ran past.

Taako crossed his arms, looking irritated. “If your kid breaks any of my shit, I’m banning you from my house, old man.”

Merle dismissively waved away Taako’s threat. “That’s just how it is with kids sometimes. They break shit. You’ll find out soon,” He said, giving Angus a pointed look.

Taako glanced at Angus, who shrugged. “Yeahhhhh, I don’t think that’s really gonna be an issue,” Taako said, giving Merle a disbelieving look.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya,” Merle said, turning and leaving.

Taako glanced down at Angus again, “You’re not gonna break my shit are you?”

“I don’t really plan to, sir,” He replied, straightening out his shirt again.

Taako looked like he was about to say something else when he noticed that Barry was waving him over. Without saying anything, he left Angus and went to see what his brother-in-law wanted.

Angus resisted the urge to follow Taako, and instead looked around for a conversation to jump into. Noticing this, Carey and Killian waved him over, and he gratefully joined their conversation with Davenport.

* * *

The party was fun and Angus enjoyed himself a lot, surrounded by his friends and former co-workers. At one point later on, he saw Taako and Lucretia in a hushed conversation off to the side, and both left it looking more upset than before. He decided not to say anything, knowing there were some issues there that he probably shouldn’t get involved in. She left about fifteen minutes later, saying she needed to get back up to the moon. After that, the party gradually dwindled down one by one, until only Lup and Barry remained. 

“You make sure to give my brother as much trouble as you can, now,” Lup said, a serious expression on her face. “He deserves it.” She leaned down so she was eye-level with Angus. “I can teach you the best ways to prank him, if you want,” She said quietly.

“Don’t give him any ideas, Lulu,” Taako called from across the room, where he was lounging on the couch with Kravitz. He stood up, approaching them. “Or I’ll tell him about the time you hid under the wrong wagon and-”

“Alright, alright,” Lup said, raising her arms in surrender. She winked at Angus. “Maybe next time.”

Angus gave a nervous smile as Barry re-entered the room. “You ready to go, Lup?”

“Yeah, I guess,” She shrugged before turning to Taako and throwing her arms around him. “Can’t believe my baby bro’s all grown up and a  _dad_  now,” She said, sounding fake-weepy.

Taako’s face flushed irritably, and Angus could tell he was having an inner debate on whether to dispute the “baby brother” claim or chide her for calling him a dad. He ended up not getting a chance to do either, as Lup released him and then knelt down in front of Angus, holding her arms out for a hug. Angus quickly complied, wrapping his arms around her.

“You know you have to start calling me ‘Aunty Lup’ now, right?” She muttered in his ear. 

Angus felt his face flush as he stammered out an “Okay” before she let go of him and stood up, turning to Kravitz as he approached all of them. As she gave him a quick hug, Angus and Barry exchanged a somewhat awkward hug (wherein Barry insisted that he didn’t have to refer to him as his uncle). 

Once they’d all exchanged their good-byes, Lup summoned her scythe and sliced open a portal, then gave a peace sign and blew a kiss before linking her arm with Barry’s and walking through it. 

As soon as the portal closed, Taako collapsed back onto the couch, throwing an arm over his eyes. “Gods, I’d forgotten how fucking exhausting everyone was. How’d I survive a hundred years with all those yahoos?”

Kravitz let out a gentle laugh and briefly placed a hand on his fiance’s shoulder as he walked past, starting on party clean-up. Angus quickly followed suit, gathering up the cups that were on the coffee table. 

Noticing this, Taako lifted his arm from his face. “Oh, y’all can just leave all that shit. Ol’ Taako didn’t use much magic today so I can afford to burn some spell slots on clean-up.”

Angus paused for a moment, arms full of cups, before slowly, cautiously, carrying them away to the kitchen, deciding that he may as well throw these away since he was already holding them. Then, he decided that since he’d already started cleaning, he may as well continue. As he was walking back into the living room, he felt Taako grab him by the back of his shirt and yank him down onto the couch next to him.

“I said no cleaning,” Taako muttered, his head leaned against the back of the couch and his eyes closed.

Angus laughed awkwardly, resisting the urge to reply with a “yes sir.” He sat back and yawned, then realized that he was feeling tired. What time was it?

Hearing his yawn, Taako sat up, checking his watch. “Oh, shit, you should probably be in bed, boychik. It’s fuckin’ late.”

Angus slowly blinked at him. “No, I’m fine,” He insisted. But come to think of it, his eyelids  _were_  feeling quite heavy. He yawned again, relaxing back into the couch. He’d just rest his eyes for a moment. Then he’d start cleaning again and maybe unpack a bit...

He vaguely registered Kravitz’s arms lift him up off the couch and carry him to his room, placing him down on his bed and pulling the sheets up over him, tucking him in. The part of Angus that still held conscious thought said that no, he should probably change into his pajamas. He shouldn’t sleep in his school clothes. But this bed was so comfortable...

The last thing Angus registered was the feeling of someone kissing his forehead before he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! If you like my work, please feel free to check out my tumblr arcanelaurels.tumblr.com where I post a lot of requests and oneshots!
> 
> Comments are love!


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